Above: the Jamaican squad in Nassau
By the Caribbean Journal staff
Yohan Blake helped Jamaica’s men set a new World Record to win gold at the 4x200M event of the first-ever IAAF World Relays in Nassau this weekend.
The team of Blake, Nickel Ashmeade, Warren Weir and Jermaine Brown topped the previous world record, which was set in 1994 by the United States, in a time of 1:18:63.
The previous record was 1:18:68.
Blake and company beat out St Kitts and Nevis and France, which finished second and third, respectively.
Blake also led the Jamaican side to victory in the men’s 4x100M relay on Sunday at the IAAF World Relays at Nassau’s Thomas Robinson National Stadium.
Blake’s closing 100M in that race came in at 9.07 with a running start, with the Jamaican team finishing the race in a combined 37.77 seconds.
Jamaica beat out Trinidad and Tobago and Great Britain, who finished second and third, respectively.
On the women’s side, the 4×100 relay team finished second, as did the 4x400M team.
The United States won the first “Golden Baton,” with the most total points of any team at this weekend’s event.
Jamaica finished second overall, with 41 points to the United States’ 60.
The event was the first-ever IAAF World Relays, and a major boon for the Bahamas’ sports tourism push.